Labeling machines



July 7, v1964 I I l G. w. voN Hol-'E 3,140,214

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TIME IN SECONDS ICYCLE 0F MACHINE [CYCLE 0F MACHINE ICYCLE 0F MACHINE AT`300 LABELS/MIN. AT 200 LABELS/MIN. AT IOO LABELS/SEC.

.2 SEC. .4 SEC. NVENTOR.

I 650,965 W vaA/Hoff TTOKA/EKS JulyA 7, 1964 G. w. voN HoFE 3,140,214

LABELING MACHINES Filed April 7, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesPatent Office 3,l40,2l4 Patented `luly 7, 1964 3,140,214 LABELINGMACHINES George W. von Hofe, Millington, NJ., assignor to New JerseyMachine Corporation, Hoboken, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey FiledApr. 7, 1959, Ser. No. 804,676 16 Claims. (Cl. 156-354) This inventionrelates to labeling machines and, more particularly, to the mechanismsin such machines for feeding and applying labels to articles presentedat the label applying stations thereof.

The trend today amongst progressive manufacturers is toward greaterexploitation of high speed machinery in systems that can be made asautomatic in operation as is possible. This trend is plainly noticeablein the packaging industry which because of the nature of its business,is especially interested in the advantages resulting from thefurtherance thereof. Some of the new packaging systems devised for thisindustry, however, have not met the high expectations of their promotersbecause of the lack of an accurate, uncomplicated, universal labelingmachine capable of reliably labeling articles at speeds of from Z50-350labels per minute. The reason for this lack will be appreciated when itis realized that at such high speeds of labeling there are created inmany ofthe steps involved in such operation, problems which would not bepresent or are of such little consequence as not to materially affectthe overall operation at substantially lower speeds of labeling. Thus,at high labeling speeds the problem of getting the labels to thelabeling station becomes of great importance and especially so if it isdesired to feed the labels from a single source in order to keep downthe costs of the machine. Some label machine manufacturers have foundthat the problem of properly supplying labels from a single source tothe place of application at the required high speeds was one that couldnot be readily solved and accordingly built machines in which the labelswere fed to the article from a plurality of sources even though thisgreatly complicated the machines. Another problem arises when the labelsare cut from a roll and it is important that they be cut with extremeaccuracy in order not to cut away any part thereof as in the case ofpharmaceutical labels. 1n this connection, it will be interesting tonote that when a labeling machine is applying five-inch labels tobottles at the rate of 300 labels per minute, an error in the timing ofthe cut-olf operation of only 0.00062 second, will produce an error inthe cnt of or %4 of an inch, which is the maximum tolerance permittedwhen cutting pharmaceutical labels. lt will be apparent therefore thatat that high speed of operation, a very precise control of the web fromwhich the labels are cut is necessary to have a commercially acceptablemachine. The accuracy of the label cutting operation in many machines isalso affected by changes in speed thereof. At a low level of operation,the change from a slow speed to a higher speed does not appreciablyaffect the accuracy of the cut-off. On the other hand, when a change ismade from such slow speed to a speed of operation at Which 300 labelsper minute are being applied to articles, the error in cut made by thecutting mechanism may be -1- or -1/8 of an inch. It is accordinglynecessary in such cases to adjust the cut-off and this can only be doneby repeatedly stopping and starting the machine until the proper timingfor the new speed of operation is reached. If the labeling machine formspart of a system, this of course means that the whole line will be shutdown until the proper adjustment has been made. In addition to these andother problems of control, feed and timing, the machine must be mademechanically simple so that the ordinary girl operator can readily makethe adjustments necessary to cope with the wide variety of label sizesand machine speeds required by todays extremely diversified industry.

One of the objects of the present invention therefore is to provide animproved labeling machine capable of accurately and reliably applyinglabels of a large variety of sizes to articles at the high speedscontemplated in modern packaging systems.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved labelingmachine capable of accurately cutting labels from a source roll thereofand of feeding such labels at high speed to the label applying stationof such machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved labelingmachine capable of supplying labels from a single source at high speedand with great accuracy in the form of the labels and in the timing oftheir feed.

A still further object of the inventionis to provide an improvedlabeling machine that will accurately `register and cut-olf labels froma single roll thereof to a tolerance of less than 2%;4 of an inch in a5-inch label being supplied to a place of application at a speedcomparable to a labeling speed of 350 labels per minute.

Another object of the invention is to provide an irnproved labelingmachine which is capable of accurately cutting labels from a rollthereof and feeding the cut labels to a place of application at highspeed and which is so simple mechanically that a girl operator ofordinary experience can setup and operate the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved labelingmachine embodying practical, reliable mechanism for accurately cuttinglabels from a roll thereof even though the machine may be varying inspeed from very low to very high speeds.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved labelingmachine having means whereby adjustment of the label feeding device maybe made while the machine is feeding labels.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved labelingmachine embodying label feeding means capable of accurately cuttinglabels and feeding them to a place of application throughout the entirerange of speed of the machine and without requiring any adjustment ofthe label cutting mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved labelingmachine having a high speed intermittently operated label feed combinedwith means for imprinting a control or code number in proper registeredposition on the labels.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedlabeling machine having a terminal registering device that operatesunder constant conditions irrespective of the speed of the machine orsize of the label.

Another object of the inventon is to provide an iinproved labelingmachine constructed to use a pre-established reference plane for finalregistration of each label.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved labelingmachine provided with a high speed intermittently operating labelfeeding device made completely of rotary elements rotating in onedirection and being of very simple construction.

Other objects as Well as the advantages of the labeling machine of thisinvention will become apparent from a perusal of the followingdescription when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a labeling machine builtinaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective detailed View of the label feeding mechanism ofthe machine shown in FIG. l; the two label feeding drums shown in FIG. 2being similar vin all respects to the feeding drums depicted more in fbdetail `in FIG. 1, and being shown schematically in FIG. 2 for the sakeof clearness;

FIG. 3 is a schematic View showing the arrangement of several of thedevices that are associated with the tape; and

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the different operations of the machineof this invention.

The labeling machine of this invention is essentially similar inconstruction to the labeling machine described and illustrated in theVon Hofe Patent No. 2,525,741, issued October l0, 1950. Like the machineof the aforesaid patent, the instant machine includes a main conveyorwhich advances the articles to be labeled, such as the bottles 11, in asingle le to the right, as viewed in FIG. l of the drawings. Theconveyor 10 may also transmit the articles 11 to a number of othermachines in a packaging system of which the instant machine forms apart. In such event, the speed of travel of the conveyor 10 will berelated to the speeds of operation of the various machines in thesystem. At a predetermined point (not shown) with regard to the instantmachine, the articles 11 are deflected from conveyor 10 onto a movingconveyor or platform 12 which is arranged parallelly with conveyor 10and which carries the articles past the station 13 in the machine atwhich the labels are applied to the articles and to a point at which thearticles are returned to the conveyor 10 as is hereinafter described. Intheir travel towards the label applying station 13, the articles 11 arespaced apart a predetermined distance by mechanism that may comprise adrum 14 mounted for rotatable movement about a horizontal axis andprovided with a helically-shaped article engaging channel 15. At station13, the path of travel of the articles on conveyor 12 is substantiallytangential with respect to an endless conveyor or drum 16 for carryingthe labels to such station. The labels are fed to the drum 16 from asingle source 20 through a pick-up or transfer mechanism which comprisesa rotatable cylinder 21 and which transfers the labels to the conveyoror drum 16 at a transfer station 22. The drum 16 and cylinder 21 areessentially similar in construction to the corresponding drum andcylinder incorporatedin the apparatus shown in the aforesaid Patent No.2,525,741 and cooperate in a substantially similar manner. The labelsmay be of any type and if provided with a thermo-activatable adhesivecoating, such coating will be inactive at room or atmospherictemperatures and conditions, and consequently will not adhere to oraffect the action of the cylinder 21 which is unheated and to which thelabel is held by means of suction exerted through apertures 26 providedin the peripheral wall thereof. As each label is delivered by cylinder21 to the drum 16 at station 22, it is firmly abutted against one of aplurality of positioning ribs 23 provided on the periphery of such drumand is retained in this position on the drum surface throughout itstravel from station 22 to station 13 by suction exerted throughapertures or perforations 27 in the peripheral wall of the drum, as isexplained in detail in said Patent No. 2,525,741. During such travel ofthe label, it is rendered adhesive to enable the ready establishment ofan adhesive contact between the same and an article 11 at the labelapplying station 13. The label may be rendered adhesive in any suit`able fashion as by applying a suitable adhesive material thereto in amanner known to the art, or if the label is provided with athermoactivatable adhesive coating, by activating such coating in anappropriate manner such as by one of the methods disclosed in theaforesaid patent and Patent No. 2,613,007, dated October 7, 1952. As isshown in FIG. 1, in the method of said patent, hot air or steam isdirected from a pipe 100 progressively on a label 58 passingtherebeneath as the drum rotates in the direction of the arrow. Thedischarge from pipe 100 is controlled by a valve 101 actuated through alink mechanism 102 by a pivoted arm or control member 103 provided witha roller 104 which rides on the outer periphery of a ring-shaped cam 105carried by the drum 16. As the article passes station 13, the leadingedge of the label is brought into contact with and is adhesivelyconnected to the article. The articles with the partially aixed labelsthen engage an obliquely-arranged portion of belt 24 which cooperateswith a covered rail 25 to rotate each article in a clockwise direction,as viewed in FIG. l. This rotating action not only serves to press thelabel into rm and complete securement with the article, but also guidesthe labeled article back onto the main conveyor 10 which thereuponcarries the article away from the labeling machine.

The drum 16 is continuously driven or rotated by mechanism substantiallysimilar to the mechanism for rotating the corresponding drum in theapparatus shown in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,525,741. As is shown moreclearly in FIG. 11 of said Patent No. 2,525,741, such driving mechanismincludes a vertical driving shaft 4S comparable to the vertical shaft 30shown in FIG. 2 herein, and connected by gears, pulleys and belts to thedriving motor 109, to drive the drum with a peripheral speed related tothe production rate of the machine. The production rate or speed ofoperation of the machine, it will be understood, is a variable which isdependent upon the lengths of the labels and the rate at which they arefed to the label applying station. For example, the labels may range inlength from 1/2 inch to 5 inches. It is apparent that these longerlabels, when fed at the same rate as the shorter labels, will require ahigher operational speed of the machine than the shorter labels.Regardless of size, the labels may be fed to the articles at ratesranging from per minute to approximately 350 labels per minute. At thehigher rates the drum 16 must be rotated at a considerably higher speedthan that required for applying the labels at the lower rates. The shaft30 has connected thereto a gear 31 which meshes with and continuouslydrives a bevel gear 32 provided on one end of a rotatably supportedhorizontal shaft 33. The other end of shaft 33 has affixed thereto agear 34 which drivingly engages a gear 35 secured to a horizontal shaft36 rotatably supported in substantial parallcl relation to shaft 33.Mounted on one end of shaft 36 is a cylindrically-shaped cam 37 providedwith twin threads 38 forming a short spiral track 39 of approximatelyone convolution and which is successively engaged by pins 40 dependingfrom a gear 41 provided on a vertically disposed stub shaft 42. Theconstruction and arrangement of cam 37 and gear 41 are such that as thecam is continuously rotated, the pins or cam rollers 40 on gear 41successively come into engagement with the entry end of cam track 39while others of such pins 40 are leaving the track. The ends of thetrack are overlapped to the extent that an entering pin will be lockedin position before a pin leaving the track is unlocked therefrom so thatthe cam 37 and gear 41 are always locked together. The entry anddischarge ends of the track 39 are disposed at right angles to thc axisof cam 37 so that while the pins or cam rollers 40 are positionedtherein no motion is imparted to the gear 41. This condition of dwell ofgear 41 exists for approximately a 60 revolution of cam 37. When anentering pin 40 moves from the entry end of track 39 into the pitchedbody portion thereof gear 41 is caused to rotate in the direction ofarrow 43, at which time the pin passing through the discharge end of thetrack will have left the gear. This rotational movement will continueuntil the pin in the pitched body portion moves into the discharge endof the track, when simultaneously a new pin 40 of gear 41 will move intothe entry end of track 39. It will thus be evident that as the cam 37 iscontinuously rotating, an intermittent rotational movement will beimparted to gear 41 which is continuously interlocked with such cam. Theintermittent movement of gear 41 is transferred to a gear 45 provided onthe lower end of a vertical shaft 46, and then through a gear 47provided on the upper end of such shaft and a driven gear 48 associatedwith the cylinder 21, such intermittent movement being imparted to thelatter.

The continuously rotating shaft 36 is also provided with an eccentric t)to the strap of which is connected the lower end of a link 51 and whichadvances and retracts such link vertically as the shaft rotates. Theupper end of link 51 is connected to an arm 52 mounted for pivotalmovement about the axis of shaft 53. Arm 52 is integral with a cuttingblade 54 that is cooperatively arranged relative to a fixed cuttingblade 55 mounted on the bearing bracket supporting arm 52 and movableblade 54. Accordingly as shaft 36 continuously rotates, the movableblade 54 will be closed and opened relative to the fixed blade 55through eccentric 50, link 51 and arm 52. The construction Vandarrangement of these parts are such that the cutting operations ofblades 54 and 55 will occur at the same instant in each rotationalmovement of shaft 36 and during the dwell periods of the cylinder 2l.The blades 54 and 55 are placed adjacently to the pick-up station 56 sothat as the end label to be cut off or terminal label 58 in FIG. 2 ofthe drawings of the web 57 feeding from roll 20 moves into properposition at the cutting station the leading end of such label becomesfastened to cylinder 21 by means of the suction exerted through thepreipheral wall of such cylinder. Thus as the end or terminal label 5Sis being severed from the web 57 such label is securely held to theperiphery of cylinder 21. On the next rotative step of cylinder 21, thesevered label will be advanced by cylinder 2l to the transfer station 22for delivery to drum 16. By the time the label has reached the transferstation 22, the velocity of the cylinder 21 will have been increased tothe extent that the velocity of the label will approximate the velocityo-f the continuously moving drum 16. Thus, when the label is transferredto drum 1.6 it will be traveling at the velocity required to maintainthe production rate of the labeling machine.

The shaft 36 is further provided with a sprocket 62 that engages withthe lower end of a vertically disposed endless drive chain 63 which ismeshed at its upper end with a sprocket 64 rotatably mounted on a shaft65. Sprocket 64 forms part of an electric clutch 66 of suitableconstruction and which when energized secures sprocket 64 in drivingrelation to shaft 65 to cause the latter to be rotated at a velocitywhich is related to the production rate of the labeling machine. Theelectric clutch 66 is electrically connected and controlled by aphotoelectric registering control device lSti which is actuated at thestart of each cycle of rotation of shaft 36 by a reset switch 69 whichis intermittently actuated by a projection 70 provided on a cam 71mounted on the outer end of shaft 36. Cam 71 is formed to actuate switch69 to signal the photoelectric register control which energizes clutch66 and thereby drivingly connect shaft 65 to shaft 36 at the start ofeach cycle of rotation of the latter. After cam 71 has so actuatedswitch 69 it exercises no further control over the latter until it againcomes into operation to actuate switch 69 at the start of a new cycle.When shaft 65 is connected to shaft 36 in the manner aforesaid, itdrives a pair of web feed rolls 72, 73 at a speed related to theproduction rate of the labeling machine. The feed rolls are connected toshaft 65 through a bevel gear 74 provided on one end of such shaft and agear 75 secured to the shaft of feed roll 72. It will be noted from FIG.2 of the drawings that the feed rolls 72, 73 are placed adjacently tothe cutting blades 54, 55 which are located between such feed rolls andthe cylinder 2l, and that such rolls are mounted for rotational movementabout vertical axes arranged in substantial parallelism with the axis ofrotation of cylinder 21. Preferably the feed rolls are spaced from thecutting blades a distance less than the length of the labels beingsevered so that as the terminal label is being severed from the web theweb will be supported on one side of the cutting blades by such feedrolls.

f5 Thus the web will be supported on both sides of the line of cut bythe feed rolls and the cylinder 21 and the feed rolls will be positivelyengaged with the next succeeding terminal label of the web after suchline of cut has been made.

The feed rolls 72, 73 will be driven at a velocity related to theproduction rate of the machine until a suitable photoelectricregistering control device Si? of known construction is operated by oneof a series of registering elements 79 on the web 57 to deenergizeelectric clutch 66 and simultaneously to energize an electric clutch 8lof known construction. The deenergization of clutch 66 breaks thedriving connection between chain 63 and shaft 65 so that the feed rolls72, 73 will no longer be rotated at a velocity related to the productionrate of the machine. The clutch Sl is also mounted on shaft 65 and whenenergized connects such shaft in driven relation to a sprocket 82supporting one end of a chain 83 which is connected at its other end tothe driving shaft of an electric motor S4 rotating at a constant speed.The motor 84 will therefore immediately pick up the drive of shaft 65and cause the latter and consequently the feed rolls 72, 73 to rotate ata constant velocity which is independent of and bears no relation to theproduction rate of the machine. The electric motor S4 will continue todrive the feed rolls 72, 73 at this constant velocity until a secondphotoelectric registering control device 85 of known construction isoperated by a second registering element of the series of registeringelements 79 on the web 57. The control device `85 controls an electricbrake 86 which is mounted on shaft 65 and connected to an associatedframe member 87. The brake 86 is of known construction and whenenergized is of sutiicient power to stop the rotational movement ofshaft 65 and consequently of the feed rolls 72, 73. Simultaneous-ly,control device 85 causes the declutching of the driving electric clutchS1 so that when the electric brake 86 is applied to shaft 65, thedriving connection of motor 84 with such shaft will have been broken.When the feed rolls have been reduced to zero velocity, both the feedrolls, the cylinder 21 and the web 57 will be in a condition of dwell.The cutting blades 54, 55 then will come into operation to cut oif theterminal label 5S. Following this operation the cam 71 will againactuate switch 69 to reactivate the feed rolls and release clutch 86,thereby also releasing brake 87 and causing such feed rolls to operateat the production rate velocity of the machine in the manner previouslydescribed.

The two photoelectric devices 8) and 85 are arranged in predeterminedrelation with respect to a portion of the web which is traveling in asubstantially vertical plane. It will be noted from FIGS. l and 2 of thedrawings, that the roll 20 from which the web 57 is drawn is mounted ona horizontally disposed shaft 90 so that as the web is drawn from suchroll it is disposed substantially horizontally. The web 57 as it is fedfrom the roll 20, passes between a pair of horizontally disposed guiderolls 91 and into a depending loop 92 Where it is placed under tensionby a constant tension member 93 of appropriate construction, such as forexample, a roller biased at a constant tension by a suitable spring. Theweb 57, under tension, is drawn from the loop 92 and over a guide roll94 inclined at an angle of 45 to the horizontal and arranged so that asthe web emerges from the loop it is turned down through an angle of 90into a vertical plane. The vertically disposed portion of the web is feddownwardly in an inclined manner toward the pick-up cylinder 21. Thecutting blades 54, 55, feeding rolls 72, 73 and photoelectn'c controldevices Si) and 85 are all associated with this vertical run of the web57 between such cylinder 21 and the inclined guide roll 94.

As has been previously indicated, the web or tape 57 is constituted of aplurality of connected labels, the lengths of which are indicated inFIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings by the spacings between the registeringelements 79 on the tape. The registering elements 79 may be constitutedof apertures, as illustrated, or may be portions of the tape treated tohave light transmission qualities different from that of the remainderof the tape, or may be made in any other suitable fashion. Theregistering elements 79 may be located at any suitable place within theareas of the labels, or they may be located at the lines of juncture ofthe labels, as illustrated, so that the line of cut of the cuttingblades 54, 55 will pass through the registering element 79 positionedbetween the terminal label 58 and the label adjacent thereto. Aspreviously stated, the blades 54, 55 are positioned from the pick-upcylinder 21 a distance less than the length of the space between theregistering elements or of a label so that when the registering elementat the juncture of the terminal label with the tape arrives at thecutting station in the step-by-step feed of the tape, the leading edgeof such label will come into engagement with the peripheral surface ofthe pick-up cylinder 21 to be secured thereto by suction. The feed rolls'72, 73 are positioned from the cutting blades a distance less than thelength of the space between registering elements so that when aregistering element is located at the cutting station the trailing labeladjacent to the terminal label will be engaged by such feed rolls.

The photoelectric registering control device 80 is spaced upstream fromthe cutting station at a distance equal to the combined length of aplurality of the spaces between successive registering elements, forexample, tive spaces, plus an additional adjusted distance, indicated bythe arrows 95--95 in FIG. 3, upstream from the furthest of suchsuccessive registering elements from the cutting station. This adjusteddistance corresponds to the time it takes to decelerate the feed rollsfrom the velocity related to the production rate of the machine at whichthey are driven by shaft 36 to the constant velocity which is to beimparted to such feed rolls by the constant speed motor 34. It will beevident that this deceleration time is a function of the productionspeed and will vary directly with the latter. In order that the machinemay be operable without adjustment under all conditions of productionspeed, the adjusted distance is made long enough to take care of thetime it will take the feed rolls to decelerate to the constant speedlevel from the highest velocity they will operate at in the productionrequirements of the machine. In determining this it is necessary toselect a predetermined constant speed which is lower than the lowestproduction speed at which the feed rolls will operate at in theproduction requirements of the machine. The device 80 is set at thedesired maximum adjusted distance, by rst placing it at an arbitrarydistance from the cutting station greater than the combined length ofthe selected number of labels. The machine is then run at theoperational speed required to label articles with the longest labels tobe handled by the machine and at the maximum rate of labeling for whichthe machine was designed. The deceleration of the feed rolls is thenexperimented with until the proper adjusted distance 9595 is found. Thisdistance will always be less than the length of the space betweenadjacent registering elements so that the control device 80 will bepositioned from the cutting station a distance equal to the combinedlength of the selected number of labels, plus an additional selectedadjusted distance less than the length of a label.

The photoelectric registering control device S located between the feedrolls 72, 73 and the control device 80 is preferably spaced downstreamfrom the latter a distance at least equal to the combined length of twolabels and is spaced upstream from the cutting station a distance equalto the combined length of a plurality of labels plus a predetermineddistance less than the length of a label and indicated in FIG. 3 of thedrawings by the arrows designated 96-96- Thus, the control device 85`may be spaced downstream from the device 80 a distance slightly greaterthan the combined lengths of two labels and may be spaced upstream fromthe cutting station a distance slightly greater than the combinedlengths of three labels as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. Thepredetermined distance 96-96 at which the control device S5 ispositioned beyond the distance equal to the length of a plurality oflabels from the cutting station, is a function of the length of time ittakes to decelerate the feed rolls to zero velocity after the controldevice has signaled the declutching of the electric clutch 81 todisconnect electric motor 84 and the application of the electric brake87. This predetermined distance can readily be determined byexperimenting with the machine and preferably is determined before anyattempt is made to determine the adjusted distance -95. Accordingly,once the distance 96-96 has been determined, it requires no adjustmentof the machine to determine the distance 95--95 and the location of thecontrol device S0. With regard to the spacing of the control devices 80,85, this has been made sufficiently great, i.e., at least two labellengths, to give the motor 84 and the feed rolls 72, 73 sucient time tobring the speed of travel of the tape to the desired constant velocityfor a substantial interval. Thus any errors of slippage and velocitywhich may have been created by the deceleration of the feed rolls, willbe absorbed and corrected by the operation of the control device 85which always takes place under constant conditions. As is also shown inFIGS. l to 3 of the drawings, there is associated with the web upstreamfrom the control device 80 an imprinting device of known constructionand contained in the circuit of the control devices 80, 85 so that it iscaused to operate when the feed rolls 72, 73 and consequently the web 57have been brought to a dwell condition. The imprinter 97 is located at apredetermined distance from the cutting station dependent upon thelocation of the label area on which the imprint is to be made. Thus, ifthe imprint is to be made at a label portion in substantial registrywith the associated registering element 79, as illustrated, theimprinter 97 will be positioned from the cutting station a distanceequal to a multiple of the label length. On the other hand, if suchlabel portion is offset from the registering element, the offsetdistance is taken into account in positioning the imprinter.

It is believed that an adequate understanding of the operation of themachine of this invention will have been obtained from the foregoingdescription. However, it is believed advisable to summarize its sequenceof operations with reference to the curves shown in FIG. 4 of thedrawings. The curves A, B, and C in FIG. 4 give a graphical analysis ofthe label feed operation at different machine velocities using the samelength label in all three operations. Thus, let us assume that curve Arepresents the maximum production velocity of the machine, i.e., 300labels per minute, while curve B represents a production velocity of 200labels per minute, and curve C represents a production velocity of 100labels per minute, the minimum production velocity of the machine. Letus also assume that five inch labels were being applied by the machinein the plotting of curves A, B and C. The reference letter D indicatesthe start or actuation of the feed rolls, and as the graph indicates, ittakes 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 second for the machine to complete one cycle andconsequently to apply a label to an article at the velocities indicatedby curves A, B and C, respectively. This difference in time is reflectedin the differences in the steepness of the initial portions of the threecurves, which portions indicate the initial velocities at which themachine runs in the three tests until the first conrol device 80 isactivated at the ends of the periods designaed A1, B1 and C1. During theintervals designated Al-Az, Bl-BZ and C1-C2 the velocities of the feedrolls are decelerated to the constant velocity at which they will bedriven by the electric motor 84. It will be noted that this intervalvaries, dependent upon the initial velocity of the feed rolls; the timerequired for this deceleration in degrees per cycle being reduced at theproduction velocity is reduced. As has previously been explained, thedistance 95-95 takes care of this variation so that the three runsillustrated can be made without any adjustments to the machine. At thepoints A2, B2 and C2 the feed rolls have started to rotate at theconstant velocity and will continue at such velocity to the points A3,B3 and C2, respectively. It will be noted that while the new velocity isthe same in all these cases, the intervals A2-A3, B2-B3 and C2-C3 alsovary and such variance is caused by the time that is required in eachcase to decelerate the feed rolls to the constant velocity. At thepoints A3, B3 and C3 the second control device 85 comes into operationto cause the electric brake 87 to be applied. The length of timerequired for the brake 87 to decelerate the feed rolls to zero velocityin each case in indicated by the intervals AB-A4, B2-B4 and C3-C4. Itwill be observed from the curves A, B and C, that the intervals A3-A4,B3-B4 and C3-C4 thereof, respectively, are of the same length of timeand indicate the same velocity characteristics. It may be pointed outhere, that the accuracy of the present system resides in the fact thatthe relationship of these particular intervals is the same under alloperating conditions of the machine. The cutting of the labels in theseveral operations illustrated takes place at the points on the curvesdesignated A5, B5 and C5.

The curve E is a graphical analysis showing the machine operating at therate of 100 labels per minute, that is, at the same time cycle as thatillustrated by the curve C, but applying shorter labels of approximatelyVs length to articles. The points El, E2, E3, E4 and E5 correspondrespectively to points C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5 on curve C. It will benoted from a comparison of these two curves, that while there is adifference in the duration of the initial velocity because of thesmaller length of the label, the intervals of deceleration, constantvelocity and brake application are substantially the same as thecorresponding intervals in the curve C. Because the feed rolls will stopsooner as a result of the smaller label, the interval E4-E5 between thestoppage of the feed rolls and the cutting operation in curve E will besubstantially larger than the corresponding interval in curve C.

While I have hereinabove described and illustrated a preferredembodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes may be made therein without departing from thespirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a high speed labeling machine, means capable of applying labels atwidely varying production velocities and having a high speed of labelapplication of at least 250 labels per minute to individual articles, afirst driving means for continuously driving said applying means at theoperating production velocity of the machine, a single source of labelsconstituted of means for supporting a single roll of labels, cuttingmeans between said source and said applying means for intermittentlycutting individual labels from a web of labels being fed from saidsource at any one of a number of the operating production velocities ofthe machine, means for intermittently feeding said web from said sourceto said cutting means at a rate conforming to one of a number of theoperating production velocities of the machine and including meansengageable with the web for feeding the same, means driven by said firstdriving means for causing said engageable means to advance the Web at arate conforming to said production velocity, a second driving meansindependent of said first driving means associated with said drivenmeans and operable to provide rotational movement of given constantvelocity, braking means associated with said driven means, and meansincluding electrical control means controlled by said web and operativesuccessively to substitute the driving action of said second drivingmeans for said first driving means on said driven means, and tosubstitute the braking action of said braking means for the drivingaction of said second driving means on said driven means, and thereby toenable said cutting means to cut individual labels from said web withinan accuracy of at least iga inch at said operating production velocityof the machine, means for transferring the individual cut labels fromsaid cutting means to said applying means, and means associated withsaid applying means to render such individual cut labels adhesive asthey are advanced to the place of application to individual articles.

2. In a high speed labeling machine, means capable of applying labels atwidely varying production velocities and having a high speed of labelapplication of at least 250 labels per minute to individual articles, afirst driving means for continuously driving said applying means at theoperating production velocity of the machine, a single source of labelsconstituted of means for supporting a single roll of labels, cuttingmeans between said source and said applying means for intermittentlycutting individual labels from a web of labels being fed from saidsource, means for intermittently feeding said web forwardly from saidsource to said cutting means comprising variable feeding means and saidfirst driving means for feeding said web at any one of a number of theoperating production velocities of the machine, a second driving meansindependent of said rst driving means and operable to provide rotationalmovement of given constant velocity, means for substituting in saidfeeding means said second driving means for said first driving means tochange such viariable feed of the web without interrupting the forwardmovement of the latter for a portion of each cycle of the machine to apredetermined constant velocity at said operating production velocity ofthe machine, and means controlled by a part of said web located behindthe portion of the web to be cut for stopping the uninterrupted forwardfeed of the web for the cutting operation while the web is being fed atsuch constant velocity to register the advancing portion of the web tobe cut with said cutting means, means for transferring the individualcut labels from said cutting means to said applying means, and meansassociated with said applying means to render such individual cut labelsadhesive as they are advanced to the place of application.

3. In a labeling machine for accurately cutting and applying labels athigh speed, means capable of applying 1/2 to 5 inch labels to individualarticles at widely varying production velocities ranging upwardly fromlabels per minute, a first driving means for continuously driving saidapplying means at the operating production velocity of the machine,means for supporting a roll of labels, means between said supportingmeans and said applying means for intermittently cutting individuallabels to be delivered to said applying means from the web of labels fedfrom such roll, means for transferring the individual cut labels fromsaid cutting means to said applying means, and means for intermittentlyfeeding the web of labels from such roll to said cutting means includingmeans comprising said driving means to feed said web at any one of anumber of the operating production velocities of the machine to advancea portion of the web to be cut to said cutting means, and meanscontrolled by a part of said web located behind the advancing portionthereof to be cut to convert such feed of the web without interruptingits forward movement into one of constant velocity that is independentof the label length or rate of application thereof, said controlledmeans including a motor independent of said driving means and electricalcontrol means controlled by said web and operable to substitute for theaction of said driving means on said web, the action of said controlledmeans thereon, and braking means controlled by said electrical controlmeans for stopping the driving action of said independent motor.

4. In a labeling machine for accurately cutting and applying labels athigh speed, means capable of applying 1/2 to 5 inch labels to individualarticles at widely varying production velocities ranging upwardly from100 labels per minute, a rst driving means for continuously driving saidapplying means at the operating production velocity of the machine,means for supporting a roll of labels, means between said supportingmeans and said applying means for intermittently cutting individuallabels to be delivered to said applying means from the web of labels fedfrom such roll, means for transferring the individual cut labels fromsaid cutting means to said applying means, and means for intermittentlyfeeding the web of labels from such roll to said cutting means, saidfeeding means being operable to feed the web at two different velocitiesin its travel from such roll to said cutting means without interruptingthe forward movement of the web and including a web feeding device, saiddriving means operably connectable to said device to feed the web at arate conforming to the production velocity of the machine, and a seconddriving means independent of said first driving means and separablyoperably connectable to said device to feed the web at a selectedconstant velocity that is independent of the label length or rate ofapplication thereof, said feeding means including means operable by apart of said web located behind the leading end thereof to effect suchchange of velocity by substituting said second driving means for saidrst driving means.

5. In a labeling machine for accurately cutting and applying labels athigh speed, means capable of applying 1/2 to 5 inch labels to individualarticles at widely varying production velocities ranging upwardly from100 labels per minute, a first driving means for continuously drivingsaid applying means at the operating production velocity of the machine,means for supporting a roll of labels,

means .between said supporting means and said applying means forintermittently cutting individual labels to be delivered to saidapplying means from the web of labels fed from such roll, means fortransferring the individual cut labels from said cutting means to saidapplying means, and means for feeding the web of labels from such rollto said cutting means including means comprising said driving means tofeed said web at any one of a number of the operating productionvelocities of the machine, and means comprising a second driving meansindependent of said first driving means to convert such feed of the webinto one of constant velocity that is independent of the label length orrate of application thereof without interrupting the forward movement ofthe web, and braking means independent of said first and second drivingmeans for stopping the feed of said web to bring the advancing terminallabel in the web into proper relation in the field of operation of saidcutting means, said braking means including means operable by a part ofsaid web located behind said terminal label and being operable whilesaid feeding means is feeding the web of labels at said constantvelocity.

6. In a labeling machine for accurately cutting and applying labels athigh speed, means capable of applying 1/a to 5 inch labels to individualarticles at widely varying production velocities ranging upwardly from100 labels per minute, a first driving means for continuously drivingsaid applying means at the operating production velocity of the machine,means for supporting a roll of labels, means between said supportingmeans and said applying means for intermittently cutting individuallabels to be delivered to said applying means from the web of labels fedfrom such roll, means for transferring the individual cut labels fromsaid cutting means to said applyingmeans, and means for feeding the webof labels from such roll to said cutting means including said drivingmeans, means comprising a second driving means independent of said firstdriving means to lock the velocity of feed of said web into a constantreference velocity without interrupting the forward movement of the weband prior to the registering of the leading terminal label in the web inthe field of operation of said cutting means, and means controlled by apart of said web located behind said terminal label and operative whilesaid web is traveling at said constant reference velocity to registersuch advancing terminal label relative to said cutting means.

7. In a labeling machine for accurately cutting and applying labels athigh speed, means capable of applying l. to 5 inch labels to individualarticles at widely varying production velocities ranging upwardly fromlabels per minute, a rst driving means for continuously driving saidapplying means at the operating production velocity of the machine,means for supporting a roll of labels, means between said supportingmeans and said applying means for intermittently cutting individuallabels to be delivered to said applying means from the web of labels fedfrom such roll, means for transferring the individual cut labels fromsaid cutting means to said applying means, and means for feeding the webof labels from such roll to said cutting means including meanscomprising said driving means to feed the terminal label in the web at agiven velocity for a selected interval of time in each cycle ofoperation of the machine, means comprising a second driving meansindependent of said first driving means to feed the terminal label inthe web at a constant reference velocity different from said givenvelocity prior to the registry of such label at said cutting means,means responsive to label registry marks located on the web behind saidterminal label to transfer the feed of the web from said given velocitymeans to said reference velocity means without interruption in theforward movement of such web, braking means independent of said firstand second driving means for stopping the feed of the web to bring theadvancing terminal label into registry with said cutting means, and asecond means responsive to label registry marks located on the webbehind said terminal label to discontinue the feed of the web by saidreference velocity means and to cause said braking means to actuate tostop the feed of the web.

8. In a labeling machine for accurately cutting and applying labels athigh speed, means capable of applying 1/z to 5 inch labels to individualarticles at widely varying production velocities, ranging upwardly from100 labels per minute, a first driving means for continuously drivingsaid applying means at the operating production velocity of the machine,means for supporting a roll of labels indexed by registering elements,means between said supporting means and said applying means forintermittently cutting individual labels to be delivered to saidapplying means from the web of labels fed from such roll, means fortransferring the individual cut labels from said cutting means to saidapplying means, and means for feeding the web of labels from such rollto said cutting means, said feeding means including a plurality of feedrolls located adjacent to said cutting means, a first means includingsaid driving means to drive said feed rolls at a velocity related to anyone of the possible operating production velocities of the machine, anddependent on the size of the labels in such web and the desired rate ofapplication thereof to articles, a second means including a seconddriving means independent of said first driving means to drive said feedrolls at a velocity constant for all operating productive velocities ofthe machine, a control device positioned alongside the web behindthe'terminal label thereof and responsive to the registering elementsthereon to change a driven connection of said feed rolls with said firstdriving means to one with said second driving means without interruptingthe forward feeding movement of the web, braking means separate fromsaid first and second driving means for stopping the drive of said feedrolls thereby to bring the terminal label of the web into registry withsaid cutting means, a second control device alongside the web behind theterminal label thereof and responsive to the registering elementsthereon to discontinue the connection of said second driving means withsaid feed rolls and to cause said braking means to operate to reduce thevelocity of said feed rolls to zero so that the terminal label in theweb is advanced without interruption of its forward movement intoregistry with said cutting means, and means connected to said cutting`means and operable to actuate the same during the dwell period of saidfeed rolls.

9. The method of accurately cutting and feeding labels in a labelingmachine from a roll of such labels to a place of application of suchlabels to articles, comprising feeding the web fromsuch roll in eachcycle of operation initially at a high velocity that is dependent on thelength of the labels and the rate of application thereof to the articlesand then without interrupting the advance movement of the web at a lowervelocity independent of the label length and rate of label application,and while the web is feeding at such lower velocity rapidly deceleratingthe web to cause the terminal label thereof in its advancing movement tocome to a stationary registered position in the field of action ofcutting devices, severing the terminal label while the web is in a dwellcondition, and then feeding the severed label lengthwise to the place ofapplication.

10. The method of controlling the feed of labels in a labeling machinefrom a roll constituted of a web of such labels and having registeringelements thereon into the field of action of cutting means, comprisingassociating a control device responsive to registering elements on theweb from such roll in cooperative relation with such web at a distancefrom said eld of action equal to a multiple of the length of the labelsplus a given constant amount less than the length of a label andcorresponding to the time it takes the web feeding means to deceleratethe speed of the label web to zero velocity from a given constantvelocity less than a given velocity related to the production rate ofthe machine, setting up a second control device responsive to suchregistering elements in cooperative relation with such web at a distancefrom said field of action equal to a different multiple of the length ofthe labels plus a variable amount greater than said constant amount andcorresponding to the time it takes the web feeding means to deceleratethe speed of the label web from said given velocity related to theproduction rate of the machine to said given constant velocity, and thencontrolling the operation of the web feeding means by the successiveoperations of said control devlces.

11. In a high speed labeling machine capable of producing accurately cutlabels and of applying such labels at a high speed of label applicationof at least 250 labels per minute to individual articles, meansincluding a label applying member capable of applying individual labelsto individual articles at said high speed, a first driving means todrive said label applying means at the number of variable operatingvelocities required in the operation of the machine to provide thedesired speed of label application, a source of labels for said labelapplying means composed of means for supporting a roll of labels,cutting means between said source and said applying means and operableto intermittently cut individual labels from a web of labels being fedfrom said source at any one of the number of operating velocities of themachine, means for feeding said web intermittently from such source tosaid cutting means including said driving means, means engageable withthe web for drawing the same from said roll of labels, a second drivingmeans independent of said first mentioned driving means and connectiblein driving relation with said engageable means to cause it to draw saidweb at a given constant velocity independent of the variable operatingvelocities of said first driving means, electrical control meansresponsive to registering elements on said web and positioned adjacentto said web at a place behind said cutting means, and means renderedoperative by said control means to cease the drawing action of saidengageable means by said second driving means, said cutting means beingoperative to cut the web when such drawing action has ceased, and meansfor feeding the cut labels to said label applying means.

12. VIn a high speed labeling machine capable of producing accuratelycut labels and of applying such labels at a high speed of labelapplication of at least 250 labels per minute to individual articles,means including a label applying member capable of applying individuallabels to individual articles at said high speed, a rst driving means todrive said label applying means at the number of variable operatingvelocities required in the operation of the machine to provide thedesired speed of label application, a single source of labels for saidlabel applying means composed of means for supporting a single roll oflabels, cutting means between said source and said applying means forintermittently cutting individual labels from a web of labels being fedfrom said source, means connected to said iirst driving means forintermittently operating said cutting means at any one of the number ofoperating velocities of the machine, means for intermittently feedingsaid web from said source to said cutting means including said drivingmeans and means engageable with the web Vfor drawing the same from suchroll of labels, a second driving means separate from said first drivingmeans and connectable in driving relation with said engageable means tocause it to draw said web to a given constant velocity independent ofthe variable operating velocities of said first driving means,electrical control means responsive to registering elements on said weband positioned adjacent to said web at a place behind said cuttingmeans, and means rendered operative by said control means to cease thedrawing action of said engageable means by said second driving means,said cutting means being operative to cut the web when such drawingaction has ceased, and means for feeding the cut labels to said labelapplying means.

13. In a high speed labeling machine having a high speed of labelapplication of at least 250 labels per minute to individual articles,means for continually feeding a succession of separate labels to a placeof label application, first driving means for continuously driving saidlabel feeding means to cause the latter to deliver the labels to theplace of label application at a rate conforming to the operatingproduction velocity of the machine, a single source of labelsconstituted of means for supporting a single roll of labels, means forfeeding the web forming said roll of labels comprising a pair of feedrolls for advancing the label web to said feeding means, and meansdriven by said continuous rst driving means for causing said rolls toadvance the web at a rate conforming to said production velocity of themachine, a second driving means independent of said first driving meansand connectable to said driven means to cause said roll to advance theweb at a given constant velocity, means including electrical controlmeans controlled by said web and operative to disconnect the drivingrelation of said iirst driving means with said driven means and to`connect said second driving means in driving relation therewith withoutinterrupting the operation of said driven means to cause the web tocontinue its advancement at a rate conforming to said given constantvelocity, braking means associated with said driven means, meansincluding second electrical control means controlled by said web andoperative to disconnect the driving relation of said second drivingmeans with said driven means and to apply said braking means thereto andthereby stop the operation of said driven means and said drawing rolls,and means between said feed rolls and said label feeding means andoperative to cut the web in the dwell of said drawing rolls to provide alabel for said feeding means.

14. In a high speed labeling machine capable of accurately cutting andapplying '1/2 to 5 inch labels at producvtion velocities rangingupwardly from labels per minute to individual articles at a labelapplying station, means for feeding a succession of separate labels to aplace of label application, means including continuously operatingdriving means for causing said label feeding means to deliver cut labelsto the place of label application at a rate conforming to the operatingproduction velocity of the machine, means for supporting a rolled web oflabels, means adjacent to said label feeding means for cuttingindividual labels from the web of labels fed from the roll thereof,means for feeding the web from the roll to said cutting means comprisinga pair of rotatable members cooperative to cause the advancement of theweb to said cutting means and movable to a separated condition todisrupt the web feeding action of said web feeding means, meansconnecting one of said rotatable members in driven relation to saidcontinuously operating driving means, electrical control means locatedalongside said web and responsive to register means provided on saidweb, and means controlled by said electrical control means and operativewhen the latter responds to a register means to separate said rotatablemembers and thereby stop the web feed action of said web feeding means,means connecting said cutting means to said continuously operatingdriving means and operable to actuate said cutting means to cut the webwhen said rotatable members are separated, and means operable by saidcontinually operating driving means to automatically restore theseparated rotatable members to cooperative condition for causingadvancement of the web after said cutting means has cut a label from theweb.

15. In a high speed labeling machine capable of accurately cutting andapplying 1/2 to 5 inch labels at production velocities ranging upwardlyfrom 100 labels per minute to individual articles at a label applyingstation, means for feeding labels to a place of label application, meansfor driving said label feeding means, means for supporting a rolled webof labels, means adjacent to said transporting means for cuttingindividual labels from the web of labels fed from the roll thereof,means for feeding.

the web from the roll to said cutting means comprising a pair ofrotatable members cooperative to cause the advancement of the web tosaid cutting means and movable to a separated condition to disrupt theweb feeding action of said web feeding means, means connecting one ofsaid rotatable members in driven relation to said driving means,electrical control means located alongside said web and responsive toregister means provided on said web, and means controlled by saidelectrical control means and operative when the latter responds to aregister means to separate said rotatable members and thereby stop theweb feed action of said feeding means, means connecting said cuttingmeans to said driving means and operable to actuate said cutting meansto cut the web When said rotatable members are separated, and meansoperable by said driv- T; it'

ing means to automatically restore the separated rotatable members tocooperative condition for causing advancement of the web after saidcutting means has cut a label from the web.

16. In a high speed labeling machine capable of accurately cutting andapplying 1/z to 5 inch labels at production velocities ranging upwardlyfrom labels per minute to individual articles at a label applyingstation, means for feeding labels to a place of label application, meansfor driving said label feeding means, means for supporting a rolled webof labels, means adjacent to said label feeding means for cuttingindividual labels from the web of labels fed from the roll thereof,means for feeding the web from the roll to said cutting means comprisinga pair of rotatable members cooperative to cause the advancement of theweb to said cutting means and movable to a separated condition todisrupt the web feeding action of said web feeding means, meansconnecting one of said rotatable members in driven relation to saiddriving means, an electrical circuit including electrical control meanslocated between said web supporting means and said cutting means inoperative relation to said web and responsive to register means providedon said web, and electric means controlled by said electrical controlmeans and operably connected to said rotatable members and operativewhen said electrical control means responds to a register means toseparate said rotatable members and thereby stop the web feed action ofsaid web feeding means, mechanical means connecting said cutting meansto said driving means and operable to actuate said cutting means to cutthe web when said rotatable members are separated, and means including aswitch contained in said electrical circuit, and operable by saiddriving means to automatically restore the separated rotatable membersto cooperative condition for causing advancement of the web after saidcutting means has cut a label from the web.

References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,564,794 Humphreys Dec. 8, 1925 2,003,027 Wright May 28, 1935 2,482,711Jensen Sept. 20, 1949 2,525,741 Von Hofe et al Oct. 10, 1950 2,527,272Lyon et al Oct. 24, 1950 2,569,101 Hoppe Sept. 25, 1951 2,738,007 Poweret al Mar. 13, 1956 2,873,117 Croseld et al Feb. 10, 1959

14. IN A HIGH SPEED LABELING MACHINE CAPABLE OF ACCURATELY CUTTING ANDAPPLYING 1/2 TO 5 INCH LABELS AT PRODUCTION VELOCITIES RANGING UPWARDLYFROM 100 LABELS PER MINUTE TO INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES AT A LABEL APPLYINGSTATION, MEANS FOR FEEDING A SUCCESSION OF SEPARATE LABELS TO A PLACE OFLABEL APPLICATION, MEANS INCLUDING CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING DRIVING MEANSFOR CAUSING SAID LABEL FEEDING MEANS TO DELIVER CUT LABELS TO THE PLACEOF LABEL APPLICATION AT A RATE CONFORMING TO THE OPERATING PRODUCTIONVELOCITY OF THE MACHINE, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A ROLLED WEB OF LABELS,MEANS ADJACENT TO SAID LABEL FEEDING MEANS FOR CUTTING INDIVIDUAL LABELSFROM THE WEB OF LABELS FED FROM THE ROLL THEREOF, MEANS FOR FEEDING THEWEB FROM THE ROLL TO SAID CUTTING MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF ROTATABLEMEMBERS COOPERATIVE TO CAUSE THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE WEB TO SAID CUTTINGMEANS AND MOVABLE TO A SEPARATED CONDITION TO DISRUPT THE WEB FEEDINGACTION OF SAID WEB FEEDING MEANS, MEANS CONNECTING ONE OF SAID ROTATABLEIN DRIVEN RELATION TO SAID CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING DRIVING MEANS,ELECTRICAL CONTROL MEANS LOCATED ALONGSIDE SAID WEB AND RESPONSIVE TOREGISTER MEANS PROVIDED ON SAID WEB, AND MEANS CONTROLLED BY SAIDELECTRICAL CONTROL MEANS AND OPERATIVE WHEN THE LATTER RESPONDS TO AREGISTER MEANS TO SEPARATE SAID ROTATABLE MEMBERS AND THEREBY STOP THEWEB FEED ACTION OF SAID WEB FEEDING MEANS, MEANS